Brendan DuBois, a New York Times best-selling author known for his collaborations with James Patterson, was arrested Wednesday on child pornography charges. Police in Exeter, New Hampshire, discovered dozens of disturbing images of children, including infants, in DuBois’ possession.
Arrest and investigation details
He turned himself in following a four-month investigation conducted by the local police department and the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce. He was charged with six felony counts of possession of child pornography and pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on Thursday. According to the criminal complaint, DuBois “did knowingly possess at least 35 visual representations of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct.” The investigation began in March after Google reported a user storing “apparent child pornography” on Google Drive. Authorities traced the IP address to DuBois, a longtime resident of Exeter. On May 7, investigators executed a search warrant at DuBois’ home. His wife informed police that they used separate computers and had private, password-protected WiFi.
Evidence and search findings
Officers confiscated a hard drive and an Apple laptop from DuBois’ home office, uncovering over 5,600 images flagged as “possible child abuse content.” The disturbing photos included infants and children up to 12 years old. A probe into DuBois’ search history revealed phrases such as “I accidentally saved child pornography to my main Google Drive” and “How to tell if Google has reported me to the police.”
Publisher’s response and career impact
Severn River Publishing, DuBois’ publisher, swiftly removed his books from shelves and his author bio page. In a statement, the company expressed deep concern over the allegations, stating, “We are deeply disturbed by the serious allegations against Brendan DuBois. While we respect the legal process, we have decided to immediately suspend all promotion and sales of Mr. DuBois’ books. We believe these steps are necessary to uphold our values and maintain the trust of our readers, authors, and the publishing community.”
DuBois, a former “Jeopardy!” champion, has authored 29 novels, including six with Patterson, and is best known for his “Lewis Cole” mystery series. He has also published over 200 short stories and received several awards, including three Shamus Awards from the Private Eye Writers of America, two Barry Awards, two Derringer Awards, the Ellery Queen Readers Award, and three Edgar Allan Poe Award nominations from the Mystery Writers of America.
As the legal proceedings continue, the literary community and DuBois’ readers are grappling with the shocking allegations. The case raises significant concerns about digital privacy and the responsibilities of publishers and platforms in monitoring and reporting illegal content.